ASAP Rocky pleaded not guilty to two felony charges ahead of his upcoming trial.
During his Monday, January 9, arraignment, Rocky, 35, (born Rakim Mayers) pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. The charges stem from a November 2021 incident in which Rocky allegedly fired a semiautomatic handgun at former friend ASAP Relli (real name Terell Ephron). Us Weekly can confirm that Rocky is due back in court on March 6 for a pretrial conference.
Rocky also waived a formal reading of his rights during the arraignment. Although a trial date hasn’t been scheduled, the rapper’s lawyer Joe Tacopina told reporters on Monday that he expects the trial to start around September.
The update comes two months after a judge determined that there is sufficient evidence to proceed with a trial. In November 2023, prosecutors accused Rocky of pointing and firing a handgun at Relli, who claimed the incident left his left hand injured.
Rocky, who previously pleaded not guilty to the same charges in August 2022, could receive up to nine years in prison if found guilty. He has continued to maintain his innocence since being taken into custody.
“I am certain Rocky will be vindicated of all of this,” Tacopina told reporters in November 2023.
Rocky was initially arrested in April 2022 at an airport as he was flying back to the U.S. with girlfriend Rihanna. (The couple share two kids: sons RZA, 20 months, and Riot, 5 months.)
At the time, the Los Angeles Police Department said Rocky allegedly got into an altercation with an “acquaintance” in November 2021, which resulted in a handgun being fired by the suspect and harming the victim. Authorities claimed that Rocky and two other men reportedly left the scene while Relli sustained a minor injury.
Several hours after his arrest, Rocky was released on $550,000 bail. Relli, meanwhile, filed a separate civil suit against Rocky for assault, battery and emotional distress.
Relli’s attorneys Jamal Tooson and Brian Hurwitz released a statement in August 2022 detailing how Rocky allegedly lured their client to an obscure locale “to discuss a disagreement between the two of them.”
“Unbeknownst to Mr. Ephron, ASAP Rocky was not just planning for a conversation and came armed with a semiautomatic handgun,” the lawyers told Rolling Stone. “After arriving at the location, a conversation ensued whereby without provocation, warning or any justification, ASAP Rocky produced the handgun and intentionally fired multiple shots at Mr. Ephron.”
Rocky’s attorneys denied Relli’s version of events in a response statement, which read, “Defendant generally denies each and every allegation of the complaint, and specifically denies that Plaintiff has been damaged in any amount or in any way as a result of any act or omission of answering defendant.”
The statement continued: “The injuries and/or damages complained of in the complaint, if any, were caused solely, directly and proximately by the negligent and/or intentional acts or omissions of person other than answering defendant.”
